It didn’t take long for the Edmonton Oilers penalty-killing fortunes to tank at the start of the season.
In Game 1, a 6-0 home-ice loss to the Winnipeg Jets, the visitors scored on two of their three power-play chances.
Game 2, also at Rogers Place, the Chicago Blackhawks cashed in on all three of their opportunities with the man advantage in a 5-2 Oilers loss.
By the time they reached Game 6, the Oilers were last in the NHL on ‘the kill,’ with their success rate hovering at a percentage in the late 50s/early 60s through games Nov. 9.
That’s when special-teams unit gave up one in two Vancouver Canucks chances in a 7-3 Oilers win.
In the seven games since, though, Edmonton’s penalty kill has been perfect. It’s now 28th in the league of 32 teams, sitting at 70.9 per cent through 22 games.
Forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, a shorthanded …